Introduction
The physical perception that the youth would like to have has been influenced greatly by celebrities. The impact of celebrities in the youth has been seen to be on the increase. The influence they have on teenagers is significant. There is, therefore, need to have the celebrities to influence teenagers in a positive manner. This way, they will have a positive impact on the youth. This is something that has been seen to be wanting for teenagers. There are a lot of internet search regarding celebrities and their information are found to be readily available on the internet (Browne and Browne 39). This calls for privacy concerns for the celebrities as their information is readily available. They have a right to have their information secure, especially, personal information. This is a requirement that should be looked into with the introduction of social networks. It has been found out that the only time that kids spend more time apart from watching television is sleeping. Every time we switch on the television sets, there are celebrities who have been known to influence the physical appearance of young people. Even adults are affected also. This paper will focus on the effects that celebrities have on physical ideal perception ( Irwin and Gracia 82).
Influence of celebrities on physical ideal teenagers
The cloths that youth put on are influenced greatly by the celebrities that they obey and respect. Most teenagers look at celebrities for guidance on what they would like to put on. They also look up to the celebrities on how they would like to be sexy. These are the challenges that teenagers are facing as they would like to look like the celebrities. This way, their physical outlook is greatly influenced by these celebrities. The clothing choices and the body composure that most teenagers take on are influenced by celebrities. The celebrities and the choice of clothes that they choose influence the fashion industry a great deal. Most youth look up to celebrities in the fashion and the trending issues that should be followed. If a celebrity puts on a type of clothing, that clothing will sell in the market. This is because most of the youth will go for these clothes. Many teenagers emulate celebrity idols in the quest to look like they are mature themselves and yet they are hardly out of the teenage life (Witkin 33).
For the last two decades, celebrities’ lifestyles have been emulated by the teenagers and young people. The popular celebrities that appear in radio or television, or even magazines will influence the way the youth dress and will want to be like them in everything that they do. It is important to understand this phenomenon so that the parents can know what to tell their teenagers and what to copy from celebrities. The famous celebrities have the powers to determine what should be regarded to be normal. They influence the fashion industry a great deal. They also have the power to influence the good clothing and respectable dressing code that should be emulated by many. This, however, is not always the case. It is common to see most celebrities having clothing and dressing styles that are not emulated and are not respectable. Teenagers start from the fashion and the clothing whether they have the ideal image and appearance that will be like the celebrities that they respect. Clothing and dressing is not the only aspect which celebrities influence the youth. They also influence the physical standards which should be followed also. It is important to understand the requirements that should be followed in the quest to emulate the idols and celebrities. Models which are regarded to be highly attractive are known to be beautiful and thin. This structure will be emulated and looked upon by the many teenagers who are looking upon these idols (Witkin 83).
In the past, the youth did not care about their appearance and how they dressed. This is changing as many people strive to dress the way the celebrities do. Many young people spend a lot of time trying to look cool. This is unlike in the past where only the rich and the extremely successful businesspeople cared about how they dressed and appeared. This is fast changing because of the fact that the youth want to look also and be considered to be mature. They are emulating the idols and will take time making themselves be as cute as their celebrities. In most shops that we get to visit, we have a look at the shopping materials that show us that we belong to a given gender. In most shops, we find most of the clothes that are put on display belong to women. This shows that women like fashion unlike men. The feminine gender will go for foods like fries, spaghetti and rice which are considered to be lighter than the other foods. This is not the case with the male gender. They are considered to like and go for starchy foods like African Ugali, and many natural mixes.
The dressing code of the youth is changing. Many teenagers are seen to be changing the way they want to be looked at. This makes them go for fashion and clothes which will associate them with mature celebrities. This is because of the changes and the way the celebrities are dressing. Most celebrities go for mature clothing. Teenage girls are going for fashion that will make them look more feminine while teenage boys are going for fashion that make them like grown up men. It is also common to see teenage girls dressing in more of provocative manner. This makes them look like the celebrity women who strive to expose their bodies. This is considered to be sexy trend. It is common to look at young girls who strive to be sexy so that they look like the celebrities that they respect (Irwin, and Gracia 83).
Teenage girls are obsessed with being sexy and are striving to look as sexier as possible. They are more concerned with the way in which they want to look. The physical idea of the teenage girls is that it is cool and okay to look almost naked. This is the perception they get and strive to look like these sexy celebrities. It has been found out if one changes their body perception as objects of sex will likely to change the way these people will dress. It is important to understand how this is looked into. Modesty is no longer seen to be something that is cool. Girls are taught that to look modest is to look as old-fashioned and that they should strive to abandon these old-fashioned looks and change the way they look physically. They are changing the way they look in the long run. It is clear then that modesty is something that is changing the outlook of the girls. Girls are also taught that their sexuality is power and they should make use of it as much as possible. There is a new modesty movement that is changing the way girls dress and clothe. These movements are being led by websites which are dedicated to modesty and the way girls should look sexy. For the girls who do not want to look sexy, there are ways which have been advocated that they can still look modest. This is something which is changing teenage appearance.
Eating disorders
The quest to have bodies that resemble those of celebrities affect the eating disorders of most teenagers. There is also negative impact of celebrities on teenagers. Female celebrities are required to be thin, extremely thin for that matter. This requirement and image negatively influences girls. This is because of the fact that girls will want to look like these celebrities and will enroll on diets that might not be favorable for their health. They will struggle to have their bodies to look like those of the celebrities. This could be damaging to the health and to the bodies of young girls. Other girls also resort to bad habits like smoking so that they tone down their eating habits. This way, they will be able to get the thin bodies that they have been hoping to emulate.
The eating habits of most teenagers have been influenced by the popular artists that they would like to emulate. Many celebrities have bodies which are tined and framed. They are thin. The path to getting these thin bodies is not everyone’s favorite. Although this is the case, many girls are doing all the best to achieve the look of this body frame. The eating disorders which are seen to be affecting many young people affect the young women and girls who are seeking after the petite bodies that many celebrities have. One of the eating disorder that is common with this trend is that of anorexia nervosa. With this, it is common to see young girls suffering from this eating disorder. It is a disorder where one has a distorted perception about the body image that one has. This aspect leads to starving oneself and eventually leading to extreme and weight loss. Many young girls who are seen to be suffering from this condition will do anything to achieve this petite body shape. They undergo extreme diets that are considered to be extreme by starving and eating very little foods. Another eating disorder that teenagers, especially teenage girls suffer from is that of bulimia nervosa is a psychological condition which is associated with the behavior of binge eating and then doing something that will eradicate or cover the binge eating. The action that the victims could do is to vomit after binge eating. It is a common strategy that most victims do. Another way is by fasting or enemas. Most teenagers from 15 to 19 are the common sufferers that undergo this situation. Another disorder is excessive overeating when someone is known to overeat even when they are not in need for food. This habit leads to obesity. The victim does overeat in the sense that they want to have comfort.
There are other disorders which have been seen to be common with many teenagers that strive to have bodies which have been portrayed by the media to be super cool. These bodies are regarded to be very attractive and good looking. Teenagers have been seen to do anything they can to obtain these bodies. This will mean even if they have to go through some surgery, then they will undergo through this treatment in order to obtain this body. There are many cases where plastic surgeries have been seen in order to look like a given celebrity. This is a common option that teenagers are seen to resort to in order to obtain these structures (Adorno
and Barnstein 63).
Conclusion
The impact of celebrities in the youth has been seen to be on the increase. The influence they have on teenagers is significant. There is, therefore, need to have the celebrities to influence teenagers in a positive manner. This way, they will have a positive impact on the youth. This is something that has been seen to be wanting for teenagers. Celebrities have the power to influence the perception and the image that the teenagers have about themselves. They have the power to influence the way the youth look like. This is something that should be looked into and celebrities should make use of this power in a positive way. With the power they have and the images that they portray to the teenagers, they have a great influence on the youth and will determine the way the youth will behave.
Work cited
Adorno, Theodor and Barnstein, Jay. The Culture Industry: Selected Essays on Mass Culture.USA. New York. 2001.
Browne, Ray B. and Browne, Pat. The Guide to United States Popular Culture. USA. Wisconson. The University of Wisconsin Press. 2001.
Irwin, William and Gracia, Jorge J. E. Philosophy and the Interpretation of Pop Culture. USA. Maryland. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc. 2007.
Witkin, Robert W. Adorno on Popular Culture. USA. New York. Routledge. 2003.
